An Intertextual Analysis Of Lucky Jim And Room At The Top

Kingsley Amis(1922-1995)is one of the most important British novelists in the twentieth century.He is also one of the representative writers of the Angry Young Men.In the novel Lucky Jim,he portrays the hypocrisy and privilege in British society,especially in universities.By using funny and ironic language,Amis describes the process how Dixon,a temporary teacher in university,marries a rich man's niece and gets into the upper class.John Braine(1922-1986)is also one of important writers of the Angry Young Men.In his 1957 novel Room at the Top,he depicts the story of Joe Lampton who moves into the ideal city Warley and reaches the upper class by marrying a wealthy young lady.In the theory of Intertextuality,for one thing,any text is connected with other texts.This connection is by no means copying from each other.But still,this link is interweaving and inter-dependent.For another,all literary texts have an Intertextual relationship with the social and historical texts.In other words,literature is a kind of absorption and adaption to the real world.This research,under the guidance of Intertextuality,will analyze Room at the Top's Intertextual derivation and deviation from Lucky Jim in the British social conditions after the Second World War.About the derivation,there are three parts.Firstly,protagonists of both stories have a pursuit of money and fame.They also have a shared attitude towards women,which is disrespect.Second,these two works have a same structure.Protagonists find it hard to accept the current life,so they manage to reach the upper class.And finally,through marring a lady from a rich family,they realize their dreams.Third,both protagonists have a conflictive conception towards the upper class.On the one hand,their rival in love is a typical member of the upper class.Their hatred to the rivals presents their dissatisfaction to the upper class.On the other hand,their ultimate goal is to enter the upper class.Consequently,they need to find a shortcut to the upper class,which is marrying a girl from a rich family.About the deviation,there are also three parts.Firstly,Joe Lampton from Room at the Top can almost by no means continue his conventional life.Therefore,he has a stronger desire to enter the upper class.Secondly,Joe has a more serious image and a better ability to exam himself.And thirdly,in Room at the Top,women's situation is even lower,and they are more vulnerable when facing the disrespect and utilization.Under the circumstances of after-war British,we may find that for most of the common youngsters of a humble birth,the best way to change their life is to get into a medium city and reach the upper class.This phenomenon is also a social issue that these two novels are discussing.